So, as you have heard at the beginning of this story, a local landlord, Adam Bartaševičius, convinced that Birštonas could be a source of income, leased 17 hectares of land, built several wooden houses for apartments and a bathhouse. The first villas and baths were built in 1856. For some time, Birštonas was hampered by the Stakliškės spa, but this was destroyed by the depletion of the mineral water and a fire in the resort. This was a great opportunity for Birštonas to flourish. In the second half of the 19th century, Birštonas was already a well-known balneological resort throughout the Russian Empire.
Sirokomlė, a well-known wanderer, visited Birštonas in 1860. Birštonas' book describes 18 well-equipped homes, an entertainment hall, and a splendid timber bathing house with 14 rooms and copper tubs. There was a special facility for the needy. Simple dwellings, storage, and stables are all beneficial to the sick. The original springs could release up to 4 buckets each minute, totalling 5,760 buckets each day. These waters are useful against indigestion, jaundice, polish plait, glandular problems, skin rashes, mental illnesses, chronic rheumatism, children's illnesses, gynaecological diseases, and phthisis. If someone told you today that the Birštonas Spa treated phthisis, you wouldn't believe them. However, to attract additional patients, the spa's owners promoted that it treated a variety of ailments, including phthisis.
Kaunas was easily accessible from Birštonas. However, during the First World War, the resort was nearly entirely damaged, including the loss of sauna equipment, theft of furniture from hotels and summer cottages, and even doors and windows.
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